2012 Year End Top 25 Best-Selling SUVs In America

Not The Prettiest Vehicle In The Top 25,
But It Tops All Challengers

We knew months ago that the Ford Escape stood no chance. The Honda CR-V was bound to end 2012 as the best-selling SUV in the United States. Did we expect it to do so with a 29% improvement? Not so much.

The CR-V is one of two Hondas in this group of 25 SUVs and crossovers and one of eight Japanese-brand utility vehicles. Add to those Japanese SUVs two Korean nameplates and you see that, while not to the extent that it does so in the truck market, American manufacturers remain very strong players in the SUV category. 

15 of the top 25 is one thing, but Detroit brands also ended 2012 with 60% of the ten best sellers. Like the four Japanese brand vehicles in the top ten, those six American SUVs all recorded year-over-year increases in 2012.

All 266 Vehicles Ranked By 2012 Year End U.S. Sales

GoodCarBadCar.net has already published U.S. brand rankings for 2012 and truck and car best seller lists - you can find links to those posts at the bottom of this post. The table below ranks America's 25 favourite SUVs and crossovers by 2012 volume, but if you're looking for more complete data or information on another vehicle, use the dropdown menu at GCBC's Sales Stats home. Select a make and/or model and away you go.

Rank	Best-Selling SUV	2012	2011	% Change
#1	Honda CR-V	281,652	218,373	+ 29.0%
#2	Ford Escape	261,008	254,293	+ 2.6%
#3	Chevrolet Equinox	218,621	193,274	+ 13.1%
#4	Toyota RAV4	171,877	132,237	+ 30.0%
#5	Ford Explorer	164,207	135,704	+ 21.0%
#6	Jeep Grand Cherokee	154,734	127,744	+ 21.1%
#7	Nissan Rogue	142,349	124,543	+ 14.3%
#8	Jeep Wrangler	141,669	122,460	+ 15.7%
#9	Ford Edge	127,969	121,702	+ 5.1%
#10	Toyota Highlander	121,055	101,252	+ 19.6%
#11	Kia Sorento	119,597	130,235	- 8.2%
#12	Honda Pilot	114,848	116,297	- 1.2%
#13	GMC Terrain	97,786	83,179	+ 17.6%
#14	Lexus RX	95,381	82,595	+ 15.5%
#15	Chevrolet Traverse	85,606	107,131	- 20.1%
#16	Dodge Journey	79,563	55,155	+ 44.3%
#17	GMC Acadia	78,280	79,288	- 1.3%
#18	Subaru Forester	76,347	76,196	+ 0.2%
#19	Jeep Liberty	75,483	66,684	+ 13.2%
#20	Hyundai Santa Fe	71,016	74,391	- 4.5%
#21	Chevrolet Tahoe	68,904	80,527	- 14.4%
#22	Jeep Patriot	62,010	54,647	+ 13.5%
#23	Cadillac SRX	57,485	56,905	+ 1.0%
#24	Buick Enclave	56,703	58,392	- 2.9%
#25	Nissan Murano	51,675	53,626	- 3.6%

Source: Manufacturers & ANDC 
Red font indicates year-over-year declining sales 

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